Detour Through Konohagakure
by butterbeer15
Summary: Detroit teen, Cassandra, is purposely summoned into enemy territory. After the summoner escapes, Konohagakure ninja must decide whether to bring the girl with them, or leave her behind. OC insert. Set three years after nine-tails attack.


A slight figure walked at a swift pace, head down with her mouth and nose covered by a knitted scarf to guard against the cold. Though the figure was wearing at least three layers of clothing underneath her coat, she was still cold if her shivering was anything to go by. Her hair was long, plaited to keep out of her face. Her brown hair was incredibly curly, resembling a bush at the best of times. It always ended up dry and staticky during the cold winter months of Detroit, Michigan.

Her skin had a healthy look to it, though the caramel tone was rather pale in the cold. Freckles could be seen stretching under both her brown eyes and across the bridge of her nose. Carefully maneuvering with grace around an ice filled pothole in the pavement of the sidewalk, she continued on her way. A very large figure followed behind her, just as bundled as she was, though he had his face uncovered. His dark brown eyes darted around, taking in the surroundings with more awareness than would normally seem necessary. He immediately spotted the icy spot and maneuvered around it as well, though with a more clumsy sidestep than the girl in front of him.

He looked similar to the girl, only with paler skin and a spattering of freckles (much less than the girl). His curly brown hair was smashed down beneath a knitted hat. The main difference between the two was that the man, (who was senior to his counterpart by about 11 years), was built like a football player. Broad shoulders, thick neck, and enough muscle to make people think twice about jumping him without a couple extra people to back them up. The girl compared to him (or just about anyone for that matter) was tiny. Her 5 foot 3 inches fell epically short of his 6 foot height. She was skinny, although from her many years of dancing, her thin frame was built up of finely tuned muscles.

The girl was so focused on the path that she nearly passed their destination. A tap on the shoulder by her brother (yes, the pair were brother and sister) alerted her to her surroundings. Her eyes crinkled in a silent smile of appreciation before darting up the steps. She unlocked the door swiftly, and held it open for her brother to enter the building before her. Following closely behind she closed the door and shook herself in the heat of the apartment lobby. The pair grabbed an empty elevator and went up to their family's apartment. Once there they departed with the many layers they had deemed necessary for a thirty minute walk in the negative 5 degree weather. (AN: please keep in mind I am going by American measurement systems. Sorry for those who use metric)

"Do you want me to make some tea or something?" She asked as she took off her mittens, rubbing her fingers as they tingled from the sudden change of heat.

"Hot chocolate would be better." Her brother said, rubbing his hands together to create circulation as well.

"Alright. I'll make it for you 'cause you have an essay to complete right?"

"Right." He agreed with a smile. Each moved to their positions, hers in the kitchen and his in the dining room. Her brother, having been the first child of two, was currently in his seventh year of college and was an active nurse in the local hospital. More than 10 scholarships and his hard earned money paid for nearly a third of his tuition. His parents paid for the rest after their daughter insisted that she did not want to go to college.

As the water began to boil, she turned the burner off and poured the water into the matching mugs on the counter. Steam rose and billowed from the mugs. She crossed the carpeted floor and set the mug onto the table next to her brother gently.

"What d'you have for homework, shorty?"

"I need to finish my history project. But that won't take long. And I am still growing." She sighed in response, the last bit rather half-heartedly.

"Get to it then. I know you're falling behind in English, Cassie, you should do some extra credit to get your grade point average up again."

"I don't see the point. I hate the teacher and the feeling is mutual. He's got a grudge against me."

"You should still do it."

"But Richard! I don't wanna do extra credit! I already hate the teacher as it is."

A huff of frustration left Richard's mouth. He made the exhale as loud as he possibly could to show how done he was with Cassie's whining. "Just get your homework done then. I need to do my own work."

Cassie 'hmm'ed in response as she retrieved her large backpack from the front hall. It was an obnoxious yellow, but she loved it. On the inside her full name was scrawled in her mother's cursive across the heavy fabric in sharpie 'Cassandra Ivy Schumacher'. It settled with a loud thump on the table. She began unpacking the bag when she paused and took out an unfamiliar book. Symbols she didn't recognize were printed on the bright blue cover along with the solid text 'English to Japanese Dictionary'.

"Great. I took home my friend's book." Cassie muttered, shuffling back to the hall to get her coat and other winter apparel. She shrugged the garments on, and wrapped her long scarf expertly around her neck and face, once again leaving only her eyes visible. "I'm going to drop this book off at Tanisha's house. I'll be back in, like, ten minutes."

"Do you have your phone?"

She patted herself down to double-check before nodding in affirmation. Pausing for a moment she cocked her head to the side as she thought. Shaking herself, she placed the dictionary into her bag along with the rest of her homework.

"I'm gonna just stay over at her place and do my work there. She won't mind so long as I bring some food with me as well. That way you don't have any distractions either."

"Text me when you get there."

"Will do. Here, catch!" She tossed two chocolate chip cookies at him, which he caught dutifully. He stuffed one in his mouth immediately and smiled his appreciation. She took 6 cookies for her and Tanisha and placed them in a plastic baggy that she stuffed into her backpack. "You better be done with that homework when I get back." She stated in a mock-stern voice as she opened the door. She could barely see Richard's wave of dismissal but all the same she let out a light-hearted laugh.

Closing the door behind her, she began to hum Hedwig's Theme as she pressed the button for the main floor of the apartment building. A light ding sounded, signaling the end of her short journey. The doors slid open and she stepped into the lobby. She waved at the desk keeper as she headed for the front door. But, for whatever reason, Cassie didn't make it out of the building.

Her body disappeared into thin air, leaving behind only a poof of smoke and a confused desk keeper. The investigation into the disappearance of the young Schumacher would last for months, led by the finest brains money could buy. Her disappearance was felt everywhere, but it had hit her brother the hardest.


End file.
